Or Option No. 2: Kindly request the longer Chinese menu, filled with rows of Chinese and English descriptions of the sort of food enjoyed by Chinese-American families. We're talking exotic, completely foreign-sounding and, perhaps for some, a little fear-inducing, cuisine. And this is Five Star Cuisine's ultimate asset. From the epic menu, you can create your own food adventure with thrilling and eye-opening results. So sip a cup of tea and forget, at least for one evening, about gooey General Tso - easy to do when the waiter is expertly carving the lacquered skin and juicy meat from a Peking duck ($24.95, enough for six as an appetizer).

Contrary to popular belief, I'm not an expert in Chinese cuisine. Sure, I know the basics like complementary textures, yin and yang elements of ingredients and the almost magical force in a properly heated wok called "wok hey." But in my research for Five Star Cuisine I relied on a network of friends and foodies who've dined there since the restaurant's opening because their mothers dragged them there or because they wanted something that reminded them of the restaurants back home in the Bay Area.

Xifan (shee-fan), or rice porridge, isn't something you often see on a Chinese menu. Homestyle in nature, one of my Chinese-American foodie friends got sentimental over its comforting goodness the way any red-blooded American would go for meatloaf and mashed potatoes. You can order it with chicken and abalone (a type of shellfish from the California coast; $5.95), among the likes of beef ($5.95) or preserved egg with pork (also very good; $5.95) to share. What you get is a bowl of velvety broth-based soup, thanks to the rice gluten. It goes down easy and warms you from the belly out. Five Star is open late on weekends and this sort of porridge is the ideal hangover remedy or prevention, depending on your needs.

There's a great variety of hot pots. Traditionally served in clay bowls, Five Star's arrive in a metal version that conducts the heat well in an eggplant and beef short rib variety ($10.95). The meat stayed remarkably tender even though it was cut into the ribboned Asian style, and the slender, cubed eggplant was custardlike and delectable in the sauce.

I'm told that you can judge the quality of a Chinese restaurant based on how well they prepare seafood and vegetables. A favorite of Five Star's menu is deep-fried smelt in spicy salt ($8.95). A generous pile of crunchy, deep-fried whole smelt (heads and all), about the size of sardines, comes topped with sliced red chilies and seasoned salt. No time to get queasy: If we can eat the literal odds and ends jammed into a hot dog, whole fried fish shouldn't scare you. In fact, anyone who loves fish, especially mackerel and sardines, can appreciate this sort of crunchy goodness, especially when it's paired with a cold Tsingtao ($4).

Whole steamed fish (market price), in our case a tender sea bass, arrived in a shallow pool of soy, sliced ginger, garlic and fresh cilantro that scented the white flesh, which diners filet themselves with a fork or chopsticks.

With all this fat and meat, it's essential to order a veg or two. The green beans with garlic ($7.95) came out sizzling and crisp-tender in a flavorful sauce. And the glistening black mushrooms were a tender contrast to the al dente bed of baby bok choy and Chinese broccoli ($8.95).

I'd heard from some that Five Star has steadily been going down since its opening. Inevitably, from a menu so epic, there are low points, such as the monochromatic and insipid seafood vermicelli hot pot. Salt-baked calamari ($8.99) was hotter than hell. Usually, it's a good thing, but not when the steaming vapors yields rubbery flesh. And the beloved smelt was still flavorful but woefully soggy on one occasion. Service, too, lags during busy times and toward closing when the lone server is running about. Still, if the warnings are true, I can only imagine how good Five Star was in its heyday.

You can get takeout, but you'd be missing Five Star's vibe. The décor is pretty standard in the way Chinese establishments go, whether you're in Oakland, Calif. or Flushing, N.Y. But in Utah, when someone says, "This place is good because a lot of Chinese people eat there," it still means something.

Ideally, you dine here in a big group, so that you can order a multitude of things to share family-style as most other patrons tend to do. These tables are boisterous and discuss as much as they eat, covering family affairs between slurps of noodles or expertly gnawing through bones of the leftover Peking duck.

You may or may not understand the conversation, but the themes at the table are universal. And the food, for the most part, is unique and good.

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* VANESSA CHANG is a Tribune restaurant reviewer. E-mail her at food@sltrib.com. To comment on this column, write livingeditor@sltrib.com.

Five Star Cuisine

* OVERALL RATING:

* FOOD:

* MOOD:

* SERVICE:

* NOISE: 1 bells

* IN A NUTSHELL: Ask for the longer Chinese version of the menu and discover new favorites such as savory rice porridges, bubbling beef short rib and silky eggplant in a hot pot or the joys of juicy, crispy Peking duck. Service is pretty much a cordial, one-man show.

* WHERE: 3361 S. Redwood Road, West Valley City; 801-972-1151

* HOURS: Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Friday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to midnight

* CHILDREN'S MENU: No

* PRICES: $$

* LIQUOR: Beer and wine

* CORKAGE: None

* RESERVATIONS: Large parties only

* TAKEOUT: Yes

* WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes

* OUTDOOR DINING: No

* ON-SITE PARKING: Yes

* CREDIT CARDS: All major